THE WAY BACK

OUR FAR-FLUNG CORRESPONDENTS about Queensland, Australia. Writer, a long-term U.S. resident, was born & raised in Queensland & in this piece, she returns for a visit. She discusses her three pioneering uncles--John Moffat, Anthony Linedale, & John Newell, all of whom were very successful in Australia's early mining boom. Tells about some of the history, especially the mining history. Tells about her journey by train up the eastern coast from Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, to Cairns, a thousand miles away. There are many international interests in Aust., particularly in minerals. The influx of foreign capital had made many people uneasy, not because it wasn't needed& welcomed but because many of the foreign companies didn't want Aust. investments to match theirs. Writer also visited Mount Isa & Mary Kathleen, 500 miles inland, where there were rich stores of copper, silver, lead, zinc, & uranium. No contrast could be greater than the one between the complex operations of the big companies there today & the individualistic efforts of the vanished pioneers. The old struggle between manager & miner that had become inevitable when the companies turned to deep mining had now been resolved; the mine had traded his liberty for the best economic terms.